Have you ever wondered what our AV experts use to test TVs, soundbars and surround sound systems?
Well, wonder no longer. Few things excite us here at What Hi-Fi? more than a 4K Blu-ray sale, so to mark the occasion, we've put together a collection of our favourite testing and demo discs that are currently seeing discounts.
There's quite a variety on offer here, including two of Marvel's latest and, dare I say, better entries.
Thunderbolts* has oft been used for audio testing as of late, notably for the scene where Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova leads an escape from a surrounded building amid gunfire and explosions. Elsewhere, the Times Square scene in The Fantastic Four: First Steps is ideal for testing contrast, motion and skin tones.
The recently remastered Dolby Atmos soundtrack of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is also a go-to audio favourite, largely for a scene where Russell Crowe's Captain Jack Aubrey finds himself under attack from cannonballs, leading to sounds of splintered wood and panicked voices across the soundstage.
We also have a Tom Cruise double-bill in Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, both of which feature dogfights that are great for testing directionality. And Christopher Nolan's blockbuster biopic Oppenheimer allows scrutiny for black-and-white scenes as well as Ludwig Göransson's Oscar-winning score.
But of course, you should watch and enjoy these films in their entirety, knowing that they look and sound pretty phenomenal, and are great additions to your 4K Blu-ray collection. Especially at these prices...
